In partnership with Devon Community Foundation, the University recently hosted a researcher-voluntary sector ‘matchmaking’ event. This half-day event, funded by the Devon Research Engagement Network, under the umbrella of the Torbay, Plymouth and Devon VCSE Assembly, invited those with an interest in applied health and wellbeing research to connect, and spark ideas for collaboration.
On the 28th April, the University of Exeter’s Reed Hall welcomed voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations, and local researchers for an exciting ‘matchmaking’ session.
Health and wellbeing research is a core component of work for academics across the University, but ensuring community voices are at the heart of this research is not without its challenges. The VCSE sector provides unique insights into the needs and ambitions of local communities, along with lived experience and knowledge, helping researchers to ensure their work is reflective of the people who are most affected. Likewise, researchers can help inform the work of VCSE groups, providing different methodologies, and the latest evidence to maximise the efficacy of their work. Both groups have a great deal to gain from working together, and their combined knowledge generates outputs that puts community priorities at the centre of research.
This session built on a previous event, ‘Community Research: Exploring and Celebrating Collaboration’, hosted in spring of 2025 at Exeter City Football Club. Including insights from interdisciplinary projects, this day-long celebration showcased the valuable work already taking place across the region, and in doing so, highlighted an appetite from researchers and VCSE members to take this further.
Focussing specifically on health and wellbeing, this matchmaking event encouraged discussion across themes such as health inequalities, inclusive healthcare, social prescribing, and mental health. A light lunch was followed by a series of brief talks from Dr Nicola Frost, Head of Impact, Insight and Learning at Devon Community Foundation, and Dr Lindsey Anderson and Catherine Hurcombe from the University of Exeter’s Regional Engagement team. Through a series of ‘speed-dating’ exercises and themed conversations, the rest of the afternoon was spent inviting participants to get to know one another, and find common ground to support future research.
‘We know that both VCSE organisations and academic researchers have a lot to gain from working closely together, but it can be difficult for like-minded people from the two sectors to build initial connections. We wanted to provide a very lightly curated space for new relationships to flourish. It was thrilling to hear the buzz of purposeful conversation in the room!”
Dr Nicola Frost, Devon Community Foundation
Both researchers and VCSE representatives used this time to establish a dialogue across their organisations, with one researcher reporting that “I loved the various opportunities to mix and chat with people, it felt very open and flexible!”.
We hope our attendees have been inspired by this afternoon to seek out new partnerships, and continue their work to improve the health and wellbeing landscape of the region.